The ultimate 'Cable Guys' complete last of three spacewalks

March 3, 2015 4:26 AM

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Two astronauts completed upgrades to the ISS today in a picture perfect spacewalk. Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts journeyed outside the station once more to complete their third and final spacewalk. The upgrades to the station will allow new International Docking Adapters (IDAs) to be installed later this year. The IDAs will be completed later this year when two port adapters are shipped to the station via a SpaceX Dragon cargo craft. Once installed, the new IDAs will be complete and ready for testing and operations. Commercial space craft from SpaceX and Boeing are expected to dock with the ISS starting in 2017. Both SpaceX and Boeing are developing spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the ISS under contract with NASA. The current program, called Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap), is designed to spur innovation in the creation of a new set of space launchers for NASA to use in getting crews to the ISS. With the addition of Orion, the U.S. will have three different crew vehicles to choose from.

Two astronauts completed upgrades to the ISS today in a picture perfect spacewalk. Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts journeyed outside the station once more to complete their third and final spacewalk. The upgrades to the station will allow new International Docking Adapters (IDAs) to be installed later...